Early-morning bakery fire kills family of five in central Taiwan

TAIPEI -- Five members of a family lost their lives yesterday in a deadly fire that broke out in the early hours of the morning at their bakery in Changhua County, central Taiwan.

The family-run bakery belonged to 52-year-old Ho Nan-sheng, who died in the fire along with both his parents, his wife and his 17-year-old daughter. Ho's son, who was at his university in Taipei when the tragedy occurred, is the only surviving member of the immediate family.

Changhua County firefighters extinguished the fire after it was reported by neighbors but could not save the occupants. Rescuers found the charred remains of the victims on the first and second floors of the building on Zhongshan Road in Yuanlin.

The bakery occupied the first floor, while the Ho family reportedly had been living on the second floor for more than 10 years, according to the Changhua fire department.

The cause of the fire, which broke out sometime after 6 a.m., is currently under investigation, it said.